And, a permanent human colony will have landed on Mars, according to the Mars One project.

That same year, Canada will be in the conversation to host a FIFA World Cup.

Far out, right?

No, not the Mars project, the soccer tournament, the greatest sporting spectacle on earth.

Just don’t tell that to the Canadian Soccer Association.

The CSA’s top boss, Victor Montagliani, who was in Toronto Thursday morning to present Canada’s Strategic Plan for improving the country’s national soccer curriculum, let this doozy out towards the end of his presentation.

“We’ve already started our preliminary discussions with our FIFA partners and with CONCACAF,” Montagliani said of Canada’s intentions to bid for the 2026 World Cup.

“The process has to start now, and the first process is you have to put up your hand and say, ‘This is something ... we want to do.’"

To reiterate what I wrote in October, when bid rumours began to trickle out, keep on dreamin’.

“We’re the only G8 country that hasn’t (been selected to host) a (senior men’s) World Cup,” Montagliani told mlssoccer.com at the time. “Out of all the tournaments FIFA has, this is the only one that we haven’t (been selected to host).”

To be clear, any country can host a FIFA men’s World Cup.

Qatar was bizarrely selected to host the event in 2022 after South Africa brought the tournament to that continent four years ago.

In other words, if you have the cash, FIFA will listen.

But that cash is immense.

According to the South African Public Service commission, the 2010 Cup cost that country roughly $3.5 billion, a number that included the construction of five new stadiums and renovations to five more.

The dollar figures for Canada might be similar, or at least in the ballpark.

It’s a number that already spooked a Toronto committee to the point it nixed a bid for the 2024 Olympics this week.

So, while admirable, it’s difficult to see the CSA’s plan leaving the boardroom.

As it stands, Canada doesn’t have single venue capable of hosting a men’s World Cup match.

The Rogers Centre (Toronto), Olympic Stadium (Montreal), Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton) and BC Place (Vancouver) all use plastic grass – an unacceptable surface for the men’s game.

Further to that point, Rogers and the Big O are beginning to rust.

Moving on, assuming those venues somehow suffice, Canada’s bid would still need to include 4-6 more cities.

Calgary’s McMahon Stadium holds less than 40,000, the minimum capacity for a World Cup game.

The same can be said of Winnipeg’s Investors Group Field.

As for Ottawa, its 25,000-seat TD Place Stadium is only big enough to serve as a training centre.

Humans have a better chance of landing on Mars

And, a permanent human colony will have landed on Mars, according to the Mars One project.

That same year, Canada will be in the conversation to host a FIFA World Cup.

Far out, right?

No, not the Mars project, the soccer tournament, the greatest sporting spectacle on earth.

Just don’t tell that to the Canadian Soccer Association.

The CSA’s top boss, Victor Montagliani, who was in Toronto Thursday morning to present Canada’s Strategic Plan for improving the country’s national soccer curriculum, let this doozy out towards the end of his presentation.

“We’ve already started our preliminary discussions with our FIFA partners and with CONCACAF,” Montagliani said of Canada’s intentions to bid for the 2026 World Cup.

“The process has to start now, and the first process is you have to put up your hand and say, ‘This is something ... we want to do.’"

Head coach Greg Vanney told the
Toronto Sun prior to Wednesday night’s
match that he more or less knows the
lineup he’ll toss out for the season
opener in Vancouver. Here’s what TFC
could look like to start 2015.